Paul C. Cabot, 95, Financial Strategist; Began Mutual Funds

Published: September 4, 1994

Paul Codman Cabot, the founder of the country's first mutual fund and a former treasurer of Harvard University, died on Thursday at Deaconess-Glover Hospital in Needham, Mass. He was 95 and lived in Needham.

Mr. Cabot died of natural causes, said Theresa Poule of the J. S. Waterman and Sons Funeral Home in Wellesley, Mass.

During stock market growth periods in the 1950's and 60's, Mr. Cabot made his mark with his strategy of putting endowment funds into equity vehicles when other institutional money managers were investing in bonds and other fixed-rate income items.

While he was treasurer of Harvard, from 1948 to 1965, the university's endowment grew from $177 million to more than $1 billion.

Mr. Cabot was born in Brookline, Mass. He graduated from Harvard College and from Harvard Business School, cum laude, in 1923. Then he formed the State Street Investment Corporation in Boston.

During World War II, Mr. Cabot was deputy director of the War Production Board's conservation division, advocating voluntary scrap metal drives.

After his tenure as Harvard treasurer, Mr. Cabot continued to run his investment company.